After the outbreak of the Battle of Kouwai, although the 47th Mixed Brigade achieved the brilliant record of completely annihilating one brigade and defeating one division, Sun Yuanqi did not make a big noise about the results of the battle for the sake of secrecy, especially because he could not easily disclose the performance and technical parameters of the tank, so as not to let all parties have plagiarized samples. Yuan Shikai suffered a dumb loss, and for the stability of the army's morale, he also kept silent about it.

In the days that followed, both sides exercised a certain degree of restraint and did not engage in any further large-scale armed clashes, but secretly gathered strength in preparation for the next bloody battle on a larger scale.

Sun Yuanqi did not dare to be careless in the slightest, and while dispatching troops from Sichuan and Shaanxi to Hubei, Shanxi, and other places to maintain a strong military deterrent against the provinces where Beiyang is based, he ordered the 47th Mixed Brigade to sum up the actual combat experience of tanks in a timely manner so that they could be popularized and used in the future. In addition, in accordance with Yang Du's suggestion from the US Legation in China to "attack the heart first, attack the city first", actively use public opinion propaganda, economic sanctions and other means to besiege and divide the Beiyang, as for money bribery is the proper meaning of the topic.

Compared with Sun Yuanqi's aggressiveness, Yuan Shikai is more on the defensive, not that Yuan Shikai suddenly changed his temper, but that the situation is stronger than others. After the previous southern expedition to pacify the Kuomintang, the war readiness materials of the Beiyang armies were generally exhausted, and now there is no Liang Shiyi, the God of Wealth, to help them, coupled with the sanctions of Bloomage Bank, the treasury has long been Si Nong's house, and even the salaries of officials in Beijing are stretched, how can there be spare money to buy ordnance?

And now that the great war between Sun and Yuan is about to start, anyone with a discerning eye can see that Beiyang is in a weak position, even if Yuan Shikai has the intention to betray the country, he can't sell it at a good price right now! In private, Yuan Shikai also found someone to communicate with the Japanese minister to China, Enjiro Yamaza, to see when the Japanese side would be able to comply with the treaty and allocate funds for emergency relief as soon as possible, but Enjiro Yamaza had been tossed by the treaty at this time, and he was still too busy to take care of himself, so how could he have the leisure to care about Yuan Shikai's life and death?

To say that it is also Japan's eating appearance is too ugly, and the European war has not yet broken out. He hurriedly aimed at the fat meat in Shandong, wanting to book a sumptuous meal in Germany as soon as possible. As everyone knows, although Germany is quite constrained by Britain, France, and other countries, it is impossible to send heavy troops from Europe on a long-distance expedition at present, but even if it moves its little finger slightly, it is not something that Japan can handle. What's more, Hans is now in the year of fighting? In the face of the German government's strong protests, Japan could only use its talent of turning black and white into a horse and trying to quibble.

Originally, Japan hoped that Britain would take the initiative to help itself in accordance with the "Japan-Britain Alliance Entente", but it did not expect that it only remembered the clause that the two countries would cooperate in fighting if their respective interests were violated. However, they subconsciously ignored the fact that Japan and Britain should not conclude other treaties that were harmful to their respective interests. The British government can imagine its resentment when it saw that Japan, an anti-bone boy, had put aside its own secret signing of such an explicit treaty with China. Now that Japan is deflated, the British government is quite gloating, so how can it take the initiative to mediate? If it were possible, Mr. John would not even mind at all that Hans-san and Comrade Taro would fight in the Far East!

Without the protection of Britain, Japan was visibly like a lost dog with a spine stub in the face of Germany. I can't be hard at all, so I can only do my best to talk about it. There are even rumors that the Japanese government is ready to hand over Enjiro Yamaza as a scapegoat in order to give Germany an explanation. Under these circumstances, how could Japan implement the previous treaty and allocate a loan to Yuan Shikai?

Right now, Yuan Shikai has no money, food and ammunition in his hands, and only 100,000 big-headed soldiers holding burning sticks, how dare he put on an offensive posture? The empty city plan is good. That also has to be Sima Yi's suspicious nature and don't know the truth and truth. Now that he is sitting in the troubled city, everyone knows that he still wants to sing the empty city plan, but he is afraid that if he doesn't do it well, he will have to pay for himself!

When Yuan Shikai couldn't sleep at night, he also tossed and turned to think about how to deal with it, and finally could only comfort himself: "As long as there are 100,000 elite soldiers in his hands, the gods and Buddhas will retreat for three points, not to mention Sun Baixi?" Even if you can't be the president now, it's more than enough to be a metropolitan governor and the king of North China. There may not be a comeback in the future! It was based on this idea that he sent several telegrams a day, urging Li Chun to withdraw to Jiangbei as soon as possible in the morning, noon, and evening, and to preserve his strength as much as possible.

However, Yuan Shikai only took care of his wishful thinking, but did not consider Li Chun's thoughts!

Li Chun was born into a poor family in Tianjin, and his ancestors made a living selling fish for generations. He has only attended a private school for a few years, and his education level is not very high. But by chance, he was admitted to the Tianjin Wubei Academy. Tianjin Military Academy, also known as Beiyang Military Academy, Army Military Academy, is the first army academy in modern China, for the governor of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang Li Hongzhang modeled on the Western military academy and set up, with the purpose of cultivating generals. Because many graduates of this school have participated in the small station training and entered the six towns of Beiyang. Famous Beiyang warlords such as Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, Wang Shizhen, Cao Kun, and Wu Peifu all graduated from this school, so they have the reputation of "Beiyang Yuanxu" and "Cradle of the President".

Li Chun graduated from the Tianjin Martial Arts Academy and also entered the new army created by Yuan Shikai in the small station, starting from the inspector of the patrol vanguard, successively served as a promotion, co-ordination, division commander and other positions, in just 20 years has been the governor of Jiangxi, which is equivalent to one of the few feudal officials in the country. For Li Chun, who was born in a family of fishmongers, it can definitely be regarded as a success and fame, and he is a little complacent whenever he thinks of this: Fan Xu was born to kill dogs, and finally became a marquis; soup and herding cattle for a living, but also give birth to a duke, death to a king; Although he was vulgar and lowly in his early years of fish trafficking, didn't he also keep the ground?

It is a pity that Jiyue is rare for the clouds to disperse, he has only stayed in the position of governor for less than half a year, and just tasted the sweetness of being the superior, he suddenly received a telegram from the presidential palace, asking him to lead the army to withdraw to Jiangbei as soon as possible and wait for the next order.

Jiangbei? Jiangxi Province is in Jiangbei, and there are only big places such as Fengguozhou and Tuan Paizhou under the jurisdiction of Jiujiang County, and it is estimated that even the Sixth Division will not be able to put up the people, is it possible that he can still go to another identity to receive the post of governor of Jiangxi? At that moment, he ordered people to find Ma Jizeng, the current commander of the Sixth Division, Ding Xiaolan, chief of staff, Wu Jinbiao, commander of the 11th Infantry Brigade, Wu Hongchang, commander of the 12th Infantry Brigade, and other important members of the army to discuss how to deal with the matter.

After reading the telegram, Ma Jizeng handed it to Ding Xiaolan casually, and then said: "Since the handsome man has a life, I can only wait for Rin to obey, and there is no other word!" However, at present, there is an extreme shortage of ammunition and food in various units, the training of new recruits has not yet been completed, and the combat strength of the troops has declined somewhat. It is estimated that after withdrawing to Jiangbei, a fierce battle will be inevitable, and it is inconvenient to eat and supply from all directions, so I implore the Governor to immediately order all prefectures and counties in the province to send silver, grain and grass to the provincial capital, so as not to delay the major event! ”

Ding Xiaolan didn't say anything, but said: "It's a big matter, I'm afraid I have to think about it in the long run!" ”

"Think long-term?" Ma Jizeng glanced at Ding Xiaolan, "The marshal ordered 100,000 urgent, it must be that something big happened in Zhili's left, and the order for our army to retreat north is to return to help at any time." The military situation is as urgent as a spark, and the fighter plane is fleeting, how can you think about it in the long run? ”

Ding Xiaolan defended: "Ding is not disobedient, but Jiangxi Province is connected to Sichuan and Hubei in the west, and Suzhou and Anhui in the east, the location is critical, and Hukou is a place where soldiers have fought for since ancient times." Our Sixth Division has fought hard and suffered thousands of casualties, and now it is difficult to evacuate before the stove is ready to warm up. ”

Wu Jinbiao was Li Chun's confidant and confidant, and after reading the telegram, he said curiously: "This telegram is really a little strange, is it a mistake by the War Department or the General Staff Headquarters?" Obviously, he ordered the Sixth Division to cross the river and go north, but he let the Governor lead it, and he actually stacked the beds and framed the house like this, could it be that after the Governor crossed the river, there were other troops besides the Sixth Division? ”

This sentence pointed directly at Li Chun's sore spot.

Originally, Li Chun was the commander of the Sixth Division, but after defeating Li Liejun and occupying Nanchang, he was reappointed as the governor of Jiangxi, and Ma Jizeng succeeded him as the division commander. Now that he suddenly ordered the troops to retreat north, Li Chun's position became embarrassing: he said that he was the governor of Jiangxi Province, but he was no longer in the province, and maybe there would be a governor in Jiangxi at that time; He said that he was the commander of the Sixth Division, but the Sixth Division had his own rightful division commander, and he had no right to direct command at all!

In other words, he instantly changed from a feudal official with real power to a dispensable embarrassing figure.

Wu Hongchang, the commander of the 12th Infantry Brigade, saw that the atmosphere was a little stiff, and hurriedly said: "As for the whereabouts of the governor, the marshal must have made arrangements for a long time, but now it is just a secret, why should we speculate randomly?" As long as the army crosses the river, everything will be known. By the way, Lord Governor, don't forget to humble yourself when the time comes! ”

Ma Jizeng also said at this time: "Brigade Commander Wu said very well, the marshal has always been thoughtful and calculated, and he must be of other importance to the governor, so why should we worry about the sky?" Lord Governor, when are we going to cross the river? ”

General Li Chun's important members did not object to crossing the river, so he had to reply vaguely: "I will immediately discuss with the Great Presidential Palace, the War Department, and others the specific itinerary for going north, you can go back first and prepare secretly, and I will inform you as soon as there is news!" ”

Seeing that Li Chun had the intention of issuing an eviction order, everyone got up and said goodbye.

After everyone left, Ding Xiaolan, the chief of staff who was at the end, said in a low voice: "Lord Governor, I heard the discussion of the generals just now, and I thought of the passage in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" where Lu Su persuaded Sun Quanlian and Liu Kangcao. Lu Su said: "If Lu Su and I surrender to Cao Cao, Cao Cao should treat me preferentially, and he will still be the governor of the state and county in the future." And if you surrender to Cao Cao, how will Duke Cao settle you? Sun Quan made up his mind completely. I wonder what the Governor will think when he hears these words now? ”

Li Chun frowned: "Li is a shallow learner, Xiangtao doesn't bother to say anything directly!" ”

Ding Xiaolan replied respectfully: "The humble position means that the commanders of each division and brigade have military power in their hands, and they will not lose their current power whether they cross the river or not, so they can talk freely; As the governor of Jiangxi, the commander of the sixth division has been held by Ma Zigao. So I beg you to weigh it carefully before making a decision! (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point (qidian.) to vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support, is my biggest motivation. For mobile phone users, please go to m.qidian. )